Wardrobe case



J. RITTER, JR

May 17, 1932.

WARDROBE CASE Filed April 15, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BY Wmv, /f/JU ATTORNEY.

May 17, 1932. J, Rrr-HER` JR 1,859,052

WARDROBE CASE Filed April 15, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M www' A TTORNEYSPatented May 17, 1932 UNITED STATES 12A-.TENT OFFICE .TULI'US RITTER,JR., 0F RACINE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TOl HARTMANN TRUNK COM- PANY, OFRACINE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATIONl 0F WISCONSIN WARDROBE CASE Applicationled Apr1 15, 1929. Serial No. 355,138.

My invention has relation to improvements in wardrobe cases.

The object of the invention is to provide a wardrobe case particularlyadapted for the accommodation of garments of considerable length, saidcase being composed of a plurality of sections which, when foldedtogether, provide a case of compact form and comparatively small size,and of pleasing appearance.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wardrobe caseconsisting of end sections and an intermediate section hinged together,and adapted, when the sections are opened out, to form a receptacle ofconsiderable length for the accommodation of long garments suspendedfrom hangers in one of the sections, and adapted further, when thesections are brought to closing position, to

rovide for said sections being releasably locked together to preventmovement of the sections, one with respect to the other, during the timethe case is being carried or transorted while traveling.

l/Vith the above objects, andother incidental objects in view, theinvention consists of the devices and parts, or the equivalents thereof,as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. `1 shows the three sections of thecase opened, and with the garments which are carried by the hangersproperly positioned therein;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section similar to Fig. 2, but showing thehanger section of the case raised, and releasably held in said raisedposition through the medium of theconnecting means between it and theintermediate section;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the case when the three sections arein closed position;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the case when in closed position with a partbroken'away to show the releasable interlocking engagement between thethree sections; and

-Fig. 6 is a detail sectional fragmentary view, to show more clearly thehinge connection between an end section vof the case and theintermediate section.

.outer end thereof,

most when the Fig..1, are vertical brackets 14. vTo these brackets areadjustably connected the opposite ends of a flexible-retainer strap 15,the

extend .into the section Referring to the drawings, the numeral 6indicates one of the end sections of the case, the numeral 7 the otherend section, and the numeral 8 the intermediate section.

The t'wo end sections are 4each with a handle 9. The handles, when thethree sections are in closed position, as shown in Fig. 4, are broughttogether, and constitute a double carrying handle. v

-Within the Vsection, 6 near the upper or and secured to opposite"sidesthereof, are the usuali rails 10-10 for supporting hangers 11, andover which hangers theV garments 12 are supported. These garments areshown as trimmed with fur, thecollar in one instance having the furtrimming, and the sleeves being similarly trimmed, and the bottom of oneof the gar ments being shown as having a lfur border. These furtrimmings or vborders are indicated in the drawings by the numeral 12.

VUpon opposite sides kof section 7 are a1- provided lranged yflexiblepockets 13-13 for the accommodation of laundry, such as handkerchiefs.

Also secured on opposite *sides of the section 7 near the end thereofwhich is innersectionsare extended. as in and Vsmall articles,

adjustability beingsuch that the strap may .be adjusted inwardly oroutwardly so as to the garments which 7 to thereby prevent` duringtransproperly press against said garments from swinging portation of thecase.

' One end of a protectngcurtain 16 is connected to the-retainer strap,the opposite ends of said curtain being connected to theA end of It willbenotic d that the opposite endsof the bottom ofl the intermediatesection 8 are formed vwith elongated slots 17-17, and in the bottom ofeach of these slots are upstand- -ing shoulders 18-18 and 18-18.

Therend edges 19 of the sides of the section 7 adjacent the intermediatesection 8 are formed with recesses 20. When section 7 is turned upwardlyto closing position, the.

end edges 19 enter the slots 17-17, and the recesses 20 formed in theend edges fit over the shoulders 18.

The end edges 21 of the sides of the section 6, which are adjacent tothe intermediate section 8, are also provided with recesses 22. Whenvthe end section 6 is turned upwardly to closing position, the said endedges 21 also enter the slots 17, and the recesses 22 engage overthe'shoulders 18"18. By this provi-y sion an interlocking butreadilyreleasable connection is provided between the three sections.

In addition, the three sections are hingedly connected to each other bymeans of hinges 23. lVithin the sections are provided the usual side andbottom linings, indicated by the numeral 24 on the drawings.

For the purpose of packing the improved case, the different sections areadjusted to the extended positions shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Thegarments are then connected to the hangers and occupy the length ofsection 6, and of course where long garments are connected to t-hehangers, as shown 4in the drawings, these long garments are carriedalong and through the intermediate section 8 and into the section 7. Thecurtain 16 of course covers and protects t-he garments. The retainerstrap 14 is adjusted so as to fit properly against the garments whichextend into the section 7, so as to prevent the said `garments fromswinging when the case is 4being carried.

After all the garments have been adjusted inthe manner described, thetwo end sections 6 and 7 are-turned upwardly on their 'hinge joints tothe closed position illustrated f in Fig. 4. The hasps 25 are thenbrought into locking position and locked, and the case `-is ready-fortransportation.

It will be apparent that when the caseis 'in the closed position justdescribed, the shoulders 18 and 18 are in engagement with thev recesses20 and 22, whereby the three sections are held disengageably locked, andsaid `:sections are thereby firmly held against movement -with respectto each other while the caseis being carried.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the case is of suchconstruction that it is capable of accommodating very long garments,andyet at the same time said case, j when in closed position and ready foruse, is not'unduly large, but, on the contrary, is eX- tremely compact,and furthermore, is of a shape that readily appeals to the traveler.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings is shown in de- 'tailone of the hingeconnections 23 for connecting' the intermediate section of the case toan end section thereof. n By preference this hinge connectionr issimilar to that described and claimed in my application for patent onhinge construction, fil-ed September 17th,

- V'1928'. Serial N o. 341,371,'which will on April 30th, 1929 eventuateinto Patent No. 1,710,714. Therefore a detailed description of saidhinge connection would seem unnecessary.

One of the very important features of my invention is the construction,whereby a most advantageous co-operation between the end sections andthe intermediate section is obtained, and whereby the three sections arenot only releasably locked together when closed, but are also held inrigid, square form, and against movement with respect to each other, andare further prevented from being bulged outwardly.

It will be noted that the intermediate section 8 not only consists ofthe bottom piece, but also includes upstanding side walls, which I havedesignated 8. The opposite ends of the bottom piece, in which the slots17-17 are located, are extended outwardly beyond these upstanding sidepieces 8. As a result of this construction, when the two end sections ofthe case are raised. to closing position the outer faces of the sidewalls 8 of the intermediate section come in contact with the inner facesof the side walls of t-he end sections. and the'end edges of sai-d sidewalls of the end sections are against the bottom ofthe intermediatesection.

` By this provision the intermediate section acts as a stop when the endsections are raised to a closed position, and the case is also held inrigid, square shape. Also, the end sections of the case, when the caseis in closed position, are tightly locked by reason of the end edges 19and 21 entering the slots 17`17,

Vand thus bringing the recesses 2O and 22 into engagement with theupstanding shoulders 18-18. The end edges 19 and 21, in conjunction withthe recesses 2O and y22 also prevent Athe case from bu'lgmg out when--closed, and the intermediate` section 8 prevents the case from beingpushed inwardly, which, of course, would have a tendency to release theend edges that enter the slots 17-17.

It will be further seen that the long garments extend across the bottomof the intermediate section between the side walls 8-8, and inasmuch asthe side walls of the end sections 6 and 7 of the case'are on the Y'outside of said upstanding walls 8, it is evident that the garments liebetween the upstanding walls 8, and hence will not interfere with theclosing of the case.v

W'hat I claim as my invention is:

1. A wardrobe case comprising, an intermediate section and end sectionshingedly connected to the opposite ends of said intermediate section,all of said sections having side walls of substantially similar heightand said end sections being so hinged that when said sections areunfolded a continuous receptacle, of length equal to the combined lengthof all of said-sectionsand having a substa'ntially continuous boundingWall of adjacent end corners of the side Walls of both of said endsections when said sections are folded together.

2. A Wardrobe case comprising, an intermediate section and end sectionshingedly connected to the opposite ends of said intermediate section,all of said sections having side Walls of substantially similar heightand said end sections being so hinged thatv when said sections areunfolded a continuous receptacle of length equal to the combined lengthof all of said sections and having a substantially continuous boundingWall of substantially uniform height is formed, and the side Walls ofsaid intermediate section being provided with longitudinal slotsterminating in upstanding shoulders, the sides of said slots beingformed to overlap the adjacent end corners of the side Walls of both ofsaid end sections and said shoulders being adapted to interlock withrecesses in the ends of said end sections when said sections are foldedtogether.

In testimony whereof, I afix my signature.

JULIUS RITTER, JR.

